Written by Teri Dean Boelk
It is with a great sense of accomplishment (after having read over a hundred applications) and enthusiasm (such a joy to be able to help deserving young women!) that the scholarship committee announces our recipients for the 2023 Scholarship year. Truckee High Scholarships totaling $ 15,000 and our Sierra High Scholarships totaling $1500.The recipients of the Truckee High Scholarships are as follows:
- Gisela Ponce; is awarded $5000 with which she hopes to attend UC Davis to pursue a degree in Kinesiology. Sports and fitness have been an integral part of her life for some years, and she dreams of making a career in this field to assist others in their personal best. Gisela comes from an immigrant family with 4 children, she is the oldest daughter and often was responsible for caring for younger siblings. She has played basketball, but soccer is her specialty. She sold homemade treats and gathered recyclables to pay her way to play at a club level soccer. Parents of other team members assisted her in getting to tournaments and another employer coached her through her college application process because they believed in her. She has a positive outlook and states, “All you have to do is believe in yourself and have the work ethic to reach your dreams.”
- Giana Alexis Bosserman-Coronel; is awarded $2500 to assist her plan to attend UC Monterey to pursue a degree in architecture. She is a creative and skillful artist, and she feels this is the best use of her talents. Her parents were separated early in her life, and she spent a good deal of time in an isolated country setting of her grandmother’s home. While growing up she would often go with her father to his construction jobs where she saw how housing was put together. She hopes to intern with an architectural firm in the summers as she learns the trade. She offered this sentiment regarding the design trade, “I have always looked up to my father, and after having always gone to his job sites working as an excavator, I am interested in designing the endless possibilities that could happen on different properties. It also intrigues me how a single building can hold so many memories and possibilities. I hope to create something that can be long appreciated in the future by many different people, and I believe I would feel accomplished and proud after working on and completing a large-scale project. It would be a lasting expression of myself, and an enjoyable future to look forward to.”
- Ivette Nayeli Jauregui; with the $5000 award, has her sights set on several colleges within California’s state school system. Her goal is a BSN in the field of Nursing, thus fulfilling the vocational training criteria for this financial gift. She is a child of a teen mother and as such was primarily raised within her grandmother’s home. She says her mother was an inspiration to her because she continued her education despite having a little one at home. In every step her mother has encouraged her to reach for her dreams. Ivette feels that her greatest assets are her ability to problem solve with creative answers. This should serve her well in nursing others towards better health.
- Carrie Rebecca Vaughan; is headed to the University of Hawaii with our gift of $2500 to attain a degree in business. Her hope is to learn the ropes to become an entrepreneur by opening her own business in the future with an eye to community building. She has taken six college level courses in preparation for her next big educational goals. Her reference letter cited that she has the characteristic of being “inclusive of others” which serve her well in her endeavors. She felt that Truckee High’s Leadership program has given her confidence to speak and organize others. It also gave her a greater appreciation of all the details and planning necessary to make events happen. She is thankful that these experiences in High School helped shape her goals for the future.
The Sierra High School Scholarships are being given to the following recipients.
- Alexis Marquel Neal; is planning a career in Cosmetology by attending the Paul Mitchell School. She will receive $1000 towards this goal. She was raised by a single parent since her father passed away when she was merely 3 years old. She has worked steadily in her high school years to graduate a year early. She feels that her ability to stay focused in school and stay organized and her persistence has really what has gotten her through tough times. Alexis wrote, “The past two years have made me realize I want to learn who I am more as a person and who I want to become. Pursuing this career will enable me to help other people feel good and confident about themselves as well. Once I get my cosmetology certificate, I want to develop my own business in this field. In the long run, I want to expand and franchise all over the US.”
- Ana Ivet Pena-Espinonza ; will use the scholarship of $500 to attend a community college with the goal of becoming a Dental Hygienist. She has worked hard to catch up with her high school education and she feels her strengths lay in time management and organizational skills. She is bilingual and has used this to better serve clients in a retail setting. She hopes to get an entry level job within a dental practice to see how the office is run before she begins her practice.
